The ACDS Teaching and Learning Centre

1. The ACDS Teaching and Learning Centre Liz Johnson OLT National Teaching Fellow Support for this activity has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.

2. In the talk… The role of the ACDS TL Centre Construction of the ACDS Centre Priorities for the ACDS Centre

3. Exemplars don’t work? • Henderson (2011): Review of 191 papers 1995-2008 promoting instructional change • Evidence base for successful change is weak “research communities that study and enact change are largely isolated from one-another” • Change requires long-term engagement of participating educators in a project recognizing complex nature of higher education “Two commonly used change strategies are clearly not effective: developing and testing ‘‘best practice’’ curricular materials and then making these materials available to other faculty and ‘‘top-down’’ policy-making meant to influence instructional practices.”

4. Teacher Student Taught Curriculum Align the learning context:complementary roles Institution Regulators Funding Professional accreditation University groups Peers Disciplinary Associations Institutions HE Specialists HE Research

5. The role of the ACDS TL Centre • Build a picture ofgood practice in learning and teaching in science and mathematics • Provide condensed authoritative advice to Faculties of Science: evidence-based practice • Develop advice for regulatory, funding and policy bodies • Build and support links amongst science and maths education leaders distillation authority influence engagement

6. Centre website ACDS Teaching & Learning Centre ADTLs ACDS members Science TL leaders Projects TL meetings

7. The Hub for Science Teaching Bring separated disciplines together Translation to practice

8. A hunger for consolidated and authoritative information… Resources Evaluated good practice Practice/ideas exchange Info: funding, conference Evaluating Actions Link networks/disciplines Voice & vision for Sci Funding Endorsement Careers/mentoring People & organization College of experts? Character X –disciplinary Connected, sustainable

9. ACDS ACDS Executive ACDS TL Centre Centre Director Communications Officer ACDS TL Centre Operation Authority, whole-of-sector • ADTL network • ACDS TL Conference • ADTL Professional Development Workshops • ACDS TL project teams • ACDS Position papers • National Statements/ Reports on Learning and Teaching in Science and mathematics • Science & Maths educators • Information hub • Practice exchange Facilitation, Progression Distributed leadership

10. Testing the model: 2013 • Participation: newsletter, meetings • ACDS TL Centre Website • Projects: ACDS TLO project • Meetings • ACDS TL Conference • Discipline Network Roundtable • Project Workshops • ACSME Centre website ADTLs ACDS members Science TL leaders Projects TL meetings

11. Website: www.acds.edu.au/tlcentre News:meetings, projects, publications, ideas Centre Projects: Information, outcomes Networks: Science Education, ADTL Resources: ACDS reports & statements Useful links Science TL Calendar Ideas exchange

12. Projects: ACDS TLO Project Objectives: • Advice on using the national Science Threshold Learning Outcomes (Science TLOs) in course design • Forward planning for sector-wide uptake Action: • Advancing the TLOs workshop, Feb 2013 • ACDS response to HESP draft standards • Advice for Faculties in preparation • Dissemination: • Discipline draft TLO statements • TLO good practice guides

13. Meetings • Develop collective view • Disseminate information • Initiate and progress projects • Build on existing meetings ACDS TL Conference • ADTLs, TL leaders Workshops • Specific purpose: TLO workshop, Discipline Network Roundtable; ACDE/ACDS joint meeting • Professional development? ACSME • Broad audience of science and mathematics educators

14. Working collaboratively Science Discipline Networks • Project funding by OLT (mostly) • Focus on: • translation to discipline • Educator practice ACDS TL Centre • Cross-disciplinary links • Focus on • curriculum leadership • institutional context for learning Physics Education Network SaMnet

15. Where to next? • October 2013: ACDS AGM approved funding • Consolidate collaboration : education networks, TL project leaders, OLT • Expand active membership to TL leaders • ADTL Bootcamp • Teaching associates (sessional teaching)

16. Thanks to… Prof John Rice Prof Russell Crawford & the ACDS Executive A/Prof Manju Sharma & the SaMnet team Generous participants: ADTLs, TL leaders, and colleagues Support for this activity has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.

18. Developing the model

19. Priorities for the ACDS TL Centre

20. Recurring themes…issues for Science and Mathematical Sciences Curriculum: learningmodes, outcomes, role of HE Students:underpreparation, large classes Staff: PD, cultural change Recurring themes…valuable information Authoritative advice: executive summary/ explanations, pedagogies, PD for staff Tools: exchange, toolkit, benchmarking, evaluation Networking/ sector information: News, events